His Little Wife
by SLSPNOUATTLKFan
Summary: What if Gaston gave Belle one last chance to save the Beast's life? What if she agreed to marry him in exchange for the Beast's life? Would she be saved? Or would she crumble under the pressure and fear? Trigger warning for abuse and depression. Please don't read if this will affect you in negative ways!
1. Chapter 1

_Belle's POV _

"No!" I screamed over the crashing thunder as Gaston raised his sword high above the beast. "Please no!"

Gaston looked over at me with rage in his eyes. "It doesn't have to be this way, Belle!" He yelled above the rain. "I'd be willing to put this little disagreement behind us..if you agreed to marry me!"

I stood silent for several minutes. Gaston has been fighting for me to marry him for years, but I've always denied. Never had I thought that I would consider it. But here I was, considering marrying this horrible, conceited man. But I couldn't let him kill the beast, I just couldn't. I gripped my hands together, lacing my fingers, to stop the shaking before nodding. Okay."

"What was that, my dear?" I heard Gaston ask above the rain.

I sighed before repeating my answer. "Okay!" I said louder.

I saw a wicked smirk grow across Gaston's face. He looked down at the beast and for a moment, I thought he would reconsider and kill the beast anyway. But Gaston took this opportunity to kick the beast in the side, sending the beast to the ground.

Gaston jumped across what was left of the castle floors over to me. He brought his hand to my cheek and chuckled. "Finally," he said. "My little wife."

...

Gaston had taken me home, intending for me to say a quick goodbye to my Papa, but Papa stopped me as soon as I told him that Gaston and I were to be married.

"Belle?" My father questioned walking up to me slowly. "You can't possibly marry this man. You've said many times it's not what you want."

I took a breath, trying to make my voice as less shaky as possible. "Papa, you want me to be taken care of don't you? Gaston is the man who can take care of me, so you don't need to anymore. I'll learn to love him, someday."

My Papa gave me a questioning look, but pulled me into his arms. "I love you, Belle. Very much. Please come visit."

"Of course." I hugged him tightly, not knowing when I would see him again.

Gaston came back into the kitchen area, my belongings in hand. He offered me his hand, and I took it.

"We shall be married in a few days." Gaston told me that evening. "Finally, I have you just like I wanted. I knew I would get you eventually Belle."

I sat down on our bed and sighed. "I may marry you, but I'll never be happy with you Gaston. Never."

An angry look flashed across his face before he replied. "You act like Im a monster, Belle. I'm strong, I'm handsome, I can provide for you! You told me that there was a beast, I did what I thought was right for my village and went to kill him. But I spared him for you! Everything I've done was to get you! Don't you understand that I can give you a good life? You may not love me now, but you'll see I'm not evil and maybe..just maybe you'll learn to love me."

With that, Gaston left the room and left me alone.

I laid down on the bed and put my face in a pillow. Maybe he's right. Maybe he's not an awful human. He did do what he believed was best for the village, and he did spare the beast for me. The Beast. I know that I would never be able to love Gaston, because my heart belonged to the beast.

That night, I laid awake in bed, staring out the window at the moon. I heard the loud snores of Gaston from beside me and shivered. I got up, and walked over to the window to get a better look at the glorious sight of the moon. In the distance, I could make out the outline of a tall tower, I gasped as I realized it was a tower of the beasts castle. I sighed, understanding that this was as close to him as I would ever be again. "I love you." I whispered gently walking back to the bed.

...

_Beasts POV_

I sat in the library, looking at every book, knowing she touched all of them. The excitement that was on her undeniably beautiful face the day I showed her the library. She was gone. She left with him to save me. Why would she save me? I'm a monster. I'm nothing.

I stood up and walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a single book. "Romeo and Juliet". I'll always remember the day and read it to me. She read it so beautifully and vividly, I could see it in front of me.

I gripped the book to my chest, remembering every inch of her face. She gave up her freedom to save me. Just like she did for her father when I took him captive. Did she love me? It was as if the question was answered for me. Glowing lights started pouring from the sky. I began to back away from them, not knowing what they were. I felt myself being lifted into the air and I gasped in fear. What was happening?

I felt tingling throughout my body, like electricity. I looked at my paw, and saw it transform into a hand. A hand? Soon my other hand, my arms, legs and feet. I was slowly lowered to the ground, and the moment my feet touched the ground I sprinted towards my mirror.

It was me. I was human. Belle _did _love me. She _did _want me. I'm not just a monster to her. She gave up her freedom to save me, so I was going to save her.

**A/N: howdy all! I'm really excited about this story and I hope you are too! Please leave a review if you'd like, giving me constructive criticism or any ideas for this book you may have! Thanks and happy reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

_Belle's POV_

I awoke the next morning, from my horrible nightmare. I sat up in bed, expecting to see my familiar room in the beasts castle. But I didn't. I looked around, taking in wooden furniture, and dead, stuffed animals. It hadn't been a dream. It was real.

I quickly got out of bed, changing from my nightgown to my blue dress. I put my brown hair into my usual low ponytail and walked out of my new bedroom.

After putting tea on the stove to calm myself down, I pulled out my favorite book that I got from the bookshop and began to read. Until now, I never noticed how many similarities this story held with my own life. "Here's where she meets Prince Charming." I sang to myself softly, thinking of the beast. "But she won't discover that it's him till chapter 3." I didn't know that the beast was the one for me until I was dancing in his arms. I wish I had held on to the feeling of being in his arms, I wish I could go back and cherish every moment.

...

A couple of hours later, I was sipping on my cup of tea, finishing my book for the third time. Gaston entered the house with a deer over his shoulder. "Good morning, Belle." He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Hello Gaston." I answered softly, getting up to put my book away. I ran my fingers over the soft lettering in the title, holding back tears. I couldn't cry in front of Gaston, I wouldn't.

I felt a hand grab my wrist and was roughly yanked back. I gasped as I slammed into Gaston's rough chest, getting the wind knocked out of me. He grabbed the book out of my hands and glared down at me.

"No wife of mine is going to be reading!" He exclaimed at me. "I want all of your books out of my house by the end of the day, Belle!"

I glared back angrily at him. Who does he think he is? "You will not tell me what I can and can't do, Gaston! That's not the type of wife I will be for you. If you can't accept that, then I'm going straight home to my father!"

His look of anger fell from his face and grew into a wicked smirk. "Whether you marry me or not is your choice, Belle." He said shrugging his shoulders. "But if you leave and go home, then I'm going to go right back to the Beasts castle and killing him. He towered over me once again, the smirk still on his face.

"No." I whispered. "Please don't, I'll get rid of all my books." As much as I hated and wanted to refuse submitting to this monster, I couldn't let him kill the beast.

His wicked smirk turned into a pleasant smile. He brought his hand up to my face and stroked my cheek. "That's the good little wife I was waiting for."

I uncontrollably let out a big sob and rushed to my room. I threw myself down on the bed and began to cry. My body shook with my sobs and gasps for air as I thought of the beast and the life I was living with him.

I heard a knock at the wooden door. "Belle?" I heard Gaston ask. "Can I come in?"

"No!" I lifted my head from the soft, tear stained pillow to look towards the door. "Go away!"

I put my head back down as the door opened and he entered even though I told him not to. He sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on my back. I flinched away at first, not wanting to be touched by him, but he continued to put his hand on me, so I stopped flinching away and just let him do it.

"There, there." He said in an attempt at a comforting voice as he rubbed my back gently. "I'm sorry I got angry back there Belle. You didn't deserve that."

I wiped my eyes again and slowly looked up at him. "You are?" Gaston never apologizes, because he thinks he's always right. I didn't know if I should believe him or not.

"Yes, Belle, I am." He tried to assure me. "But you must try to understand why I reacted that way. It's just..improper for a woman to read."

I felt anger boiling in me once again. "It shouldn't be improper though. I should be free to do what I love! Telling me that it's improper to read books would be like me telling you that it's improper for you to hunt! It's not fair!"

Before I knew what was happening, I was being roughly pulled from the bed and slammed into the wall. Gaston held me to the wall by my shoulders, anger clearly on his face. "You will learn to never talk back to me, Belle. I don't appreciate being talked back to, and you will learn how to please me as my wife."

He put more pressure on my shoulders, making me cry out in pain. "Okay!" I yelled in an attempt to make him let go. He did so, and I fell to the ground holding my shoulder.

A second later, he crouched down next to me. "I'm sorry, Belle. I didn't mean to hurt you." He offered me his hand and helped me up. "I just need you to understand so we can have a lovely marriage, a lovely family, and a lovely life together." I couldn't speak so I just nodded. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "I'm going out for a little bit."

I walked away from the door and back to the bed. My hands were shaking as I wiped the tears from my eyes. Gaston never put his hands on me like that. My mind was swirling with thoughts.

_How was I supposed to live like this?_

_Did I make a mistake?_

_Why is he doing this?_

_Would he ever truly hurt me?_

With these thoughts in my head, I got into the bed, pulling the covers over my head. It was still daylight, but I didn't want to be awake for another second. I wanted this horrible nightmare to end, but it was only the beginning.

_A/N: oh my goodness! So many wonderful reviews! I'm so glad that you guys liked this chapter! I'm going to try (keyword being try) to update every Friday! I have so many more ideas for this book and it's just getting started! Please leave a review telling me what you thought, constructive criticism or even ideas! I am always open to suggestions for my books so send me a PM or something if you'd like to see something in this book! Love you all soo much!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Beast's/Adam's POV_

_**"**_How could you let her go with him?!" Lumiere was wiping tears from his eyes before they fell. Just mere minutes ago, we were joyfully greeting each other and admiring our new human selves. Once Lumiere remembered what happened, his attitude quickly changed.

I looked down at my feet in sadness. "I was defeated." I admitted to him. "I was done and I was ready for him to kill me. But then Belle agreed to go be with him and all of the sudden..I'm not sure what happened. They were just gone,"

Mrs Potts reached over and pulled Lumiere into her arms to hug him. "There, there" she whispered. "It'll all be okay."

Lumiere quickly pulled away and angrily pointed at me. "_You _let her go with that monster! Who knows what he could be doing to her!"

Cogsworth put his hands on Lumiere's shoulders and gently pushed him away from me. "Arguing will not help anything. As we can see, Belle obviously loves His Majesty, or else we wouldn't be human." He gestured to himself and me. "We all need to stop this silly blame game and work together to figure out how to get Belle away from him."

Mrs Potts spoke up. "Does anyone have any good ideas on a way to get close to Belle again? Without telling her or Gaston who we really are?"

"I do! I do!" We all turned and saw Chip running into the room.

"You do what, my dear?" Mrs Potts leaned over and picked Chip up in her arms.

"I have a good idea of how we can get Belle back!"

...

_Belle's POV_

Gaston sat in a chair across the shop from me. So many white dresses were being tossed at me.

"Do you like this one?"

"How about this one?"

My mind was going blank due to the stress of so many gowns being shown. Gaston thought it was time that he and I got married, so he brought me to a wedding gown shop for a gown.

Gaston smirked at me, he was definitely proud of himself for weakening me to the point of marrying him. I've only gotten away from him during the night when I sleep, I was desperate for some time away from him.

I cleared my throat, getting the stylists and Gaston's attention. "Excuse me for interrupting." I apologized. "But shouldn't the groom not see the bride in her gown before the special day?"

One of my stylists, Giselle, gasped. "My goodness, you're right, ma'am!" She quickly began shooing Gaston. "You must leave at once, Sir!"

Gaston rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll leave." He stood and walked to the door of the shop. "I will be back in about an hour, Belle. But I will also send Lefou over to make sure you stay here." I nodded in his direction, letting him know that I understood.

"Oh you'll look simply beautiful, honey!" Giselle squealed, clapping her hands while jumping up and down.

I put on the first gown that Giselle chose for me. It was a sweetheart lace dress with long sleeves. It was really gorgeous. I would absolutely consider wearing this dress if I was marrying the Beast. I did not want to wear a beautiful dress that I fell in love with when I married Gaston. I was just about to voice my opinion on the dress when the door burst open.

"I'm here, ladies!" Lefou announced walking into the dress shop. He grew a big smile when he saw me in my dress. "Woooow Belle, Gaston would love that!"

I rolled my eyes. Gaston would love it? All the reason _not _to get it. "Thank you, Lefou. I'm not sure about it though. I think I'll keep trying on." I motioned towards the chair that had previously been Gaston's seat. "You can sit there if you'd like."

"Oh don't mind if I do." He walked over to the chair and jumped into it. "What's the next dress?"

Giselle glared over at him. "If you could kindly be quiet while the _bride _picks out a dress for _her _day, that would be wonderful." She smiled a sweet, but obviously fake smile.

"Listen lady," Lefou got out of his seat and walked up to Giselle, pointing his finger at her. "Gaston sent me here to watch over his lovely fiancé. It may be her day, but it's also his day. He's waited for this day for a very very long time and I'm going to make sure it goes perfectly and that includes the perfect wedding dress!" He said to her angrily. "You know why? Because Gaston deserves this more than anybody! Belle is a very lucky woman to be his bride and I can't believe it took her this long to agree to it."

Anger boiled in my chest when he said this. I tried not to get upset but I just couldn't help it. I had to say something. "Now just a minute, Lefou! Don't you speak to my friend like that! And about that last comment you made, I never agreed to marry him because I don't love him! I have the right to refuse a marriage because of love. The only reason I've agreed to marry him is because my papa can't take care of me forever and I needed a man to take me when he can't. Maybe someday I'll learn to love him, but right now I _do not!_"

Lefou looked up at me, clearly shocked at my outburst. Seemingly startled, he hunched back into the wooden chair.

I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, turned to see Giselle looking at me with sad blue eyes. "Are you alright?"

I nodded slowly. "We're done for today." I said softly, fighting back tears. I walked behind the curtain, changing back into my blue dress, grabbing my basket. I sharply turned to Lefou and glared angrily. "You can tell his highness that I will be waiting for him at home."

But I didn't go home just yet. After exiting the shop, I walked to the fountain in the middle of the town. It was still mid morning, everyone was at work or at home with their children. I sat down on the edge of the old town landmark and finally let out the tears I'd been holding in.

I sat there crying for a few moments before I heard a soft voice beside me. "Belle? Are you alright?"

I looked up to see Giselle. She was holding her hand out to me to take as if she wanted to help me stand. Instead of taking her hand, I patted next to me to tell her to sit with me. "I'm alright."

"Do you want to talk about anything? Lefou, Gaston, your father?" She asked taking a seat next to me.

I studied her face looking for a reason not to trust her. Everyone in this town seemed to love Gaston and I was worried anything I told her, she may repeat to Gaston. All I saw were her concerned blue eyes, and a friendly smile. She seemed as though she wanted to help.

I gave in, needed to vent to someone about everything. "I'm not in love with him" I sighed. "I'm not in love with Gaston, I'm in love with someone else. Someone I met in another world. But we can't be together. We can never be together."

"Why can't you ever be together?" She asked softly tilting her head to the side causing her red hair to cover her face.

"It would never be allowed. Not by Gaston, not my father, not anyone in this town." My head flooded of memories of the Beast and our time together.

Me teaching him to read.

Our snowball fight.

Him giving me the library.

Our first and last dance.

I shook my head, pushing the memories away. Thinking of him would only hurt. I had to forget about him and all of my friends with him.

"Belle," Giselle took my hand and squeezed it. "You need to fight for the people you love. It would be pointless not to fight for them. I'm sure your father loves you enough to not make you marry someone you don't love."

She was right. My father would never force me to marry someone I didn't love. But he would never let me be with the Beast. It would always be better this way. I would be married to a strong, capable man and my father wouldn't worry about me. "I can't-"

"I know you can't." She interrupted me. "I think you should, but it's completely up to you." She smiled at me. "But Belle, I hope you know that you can always come to me. I'm always willing to listen and I hope I can always come to you."

I smiled back. "Of course." I reached over and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. "Friends."

"Friends." She agreed wrapping her arms around me, returning my hug."

"I need to get home soon. Lefou probably already told Gaston that I left the shop." I stood from the fountain.

Giselle reached over, giving me one last hug. "See you around."

I smiled at her and started my short walk home. I considered stopping to see my father before going home, but decided against it since I was already late.

I walked up the steps to the house that Gaston and I shared, opening the door and closing it behind me. I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin. Gaston was standing right there as if he was waiting for me.

"Gaston!" I gasped placing a hand on my heart. "You frightened me"

But Gaston said nothing. He stood there, glaring angrily at me. Even more angry than he did yesterday evening.

**A/N: hey all! Thank you for the wonderful reviews I received for the last chapter! I meant to update on Friday; however, I've been out of town and my internet connection wasn't great. But I'm home now and ready to update! Unfortunately, yes the last chapter was dark and it will continue to be that way. Nothing **_**extremely **_**dark will happen. I promise. But if you need to dm me and ask "hey, is this going to happen in your story?" so that you're prepared for it, feel free to! I'll absolutely let you know! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Belle's POV_

Gaston stood there with an angry look on his face. His hands were curled up in fists and his muscles were obviously tense with his anger.

"Gaston," I began backing up against the door. I couldn't deny that I was a little scared. "Is everything alright?"

The angry look on Gaston's face made my stomach drop. I didn't want to be scared of him, but I wasn't sure how he handles his anger. I reached out behind me and felt the wooden doorknob. Confirmed that I had the ability to get out if I needed to, I felt better.

"No, Belle." Gaston said, the anger still clear on his face. "Everything is not alright." His voice began to raise as he spoke to me. "Lefou told me you left the dress shop. After I told you to wait there for me! Why would you do that!?"

I was shocked at his raised voice. "Gaston, I-"

"Don't! I don't want to hear your excuses." He said loudly, walking towards me. "You disobeyed me, and I will not stand for a disobedient wife." He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house.

His rough grip on my hand made me wince. "Gaston!" I tried to pull out of his grip but couldn't. "You're hurting me!"

He loosened his grip slightly and let go altogether when we reached the kitchen. He turned to me, his expression was softened. "You need to understand what I expect of you."

"I know exactly what you expect of me, Gaston." I crossed my arms across my chest as I spoke. "You expect me to be a weak woman for you. You want me to stay inside, cook for you, say "whatever you want, dear", and you want me to never read again!" Anger boiled in my chest as I thought about everything that Gaston wanted me to do. "But that's not who I am, Gaston!"

"Then you better learn, Belle!" He exclaimed back at me. "Because you'll know exactly what I'll do to your precious Beast if you don't be a good little wife." He smiled wickedly at me.

Tears welled up in my eyes. Because he was right. If I didn't submit to him and be a perfect wife in his eyes, he wound to back to the castle and kill the Beast.

I nodded softly. "You'll need to teach me." I whispered. "Teach me to be the perfect wife for you."

Gaston grinned widely, leaned down and kissed me forehead. "That's a good girl."

...

The next morning, I decided to ask Gaston something that I've wanted to ask him for a few days now.

I sat in the kitchen at the table with a cup of tea in front of me. It was getting cold, but I couldn't bring myself to drink it. There was a knot in my stomach, making me hesitant that I could keep anything down.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Gaston entered the house with a large bird in his hands. "Good morning, Belle." He said happily, kissing my cheek.

Good, he seemed to be in a good mood. Now was probably the best time to ask him. "Gaston?" I asked shakily. "I know you said that you wanted me to stay in the house, but could I please go visit my father? I really miss him."

Gaston furrowed his eyebrows at me. "Of course, Belle. I'm not holding you prisoner here." He put the bird down and continued speaking. "I would never forbid you from seeing Maurice."

I sighed a breath of relief. I smiled, walking up to him and wrapping my arms around him in a hug. "Thank you, Gaston. Thank you so much."

He laughed from his stomach. "You're welcome, Belle. We will leave as soon as we eat."

This made me pause. I looked up at him in confusion. "We? Gaston, I was hoping that _I _could-"

He cut me off with another laugh. "Oh Belle, you can't go visit your father on your own. How do I know that's really where you're going?"

I wanted to fire back with a remark. But I knew that if I did, it would make him mad and he would threaten the Beast. "Yes, Gaston." I said with a sad sigh.

He smiled and brought his fingers up to my cheek to stroke it. "You're learning, Belle."

I knew that I was not happy being with Gaston, I knew that my life wasn't going to be the same. But if I had known what was going to happen soon, I may not have stayed. I just might've considered letting him fight the Beast.

**A/N: hey all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know that it's not very long and for that i apologize, but i was just really trying to get this chapter up quickly! College has really been kicking my butt this last week so that's why i haven't updated in a bit. To answer some review question; this book is based on the original animated movie! But if you want to imagine Emma Watson and Luke Evans instead, then go right ahead lol! And yes, Giselle is a nod to Enchanted! I love Enchanted a lot, but I wasn't originally going to add Giselle in and it just kinda happened xD Idk if I'll add in anymore characters but if you have any ideas for more Disney characters to make an appearance, I'd love to hear them and maybe I'll write them in! I'm always looking for constructive criticism and ideas so if you have anything for me, don't hesitant to PM me and I'd love to hear your ideas! Love you all and I'll see you next chapter! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Belle's POV_

As Gaston and I walked the way to my papa's house, he put his arm around me as a show to the townspeople that we were together and we were happy.

Some of the men gave Gaston a thumbs up, and approving smiles. The women glared at me as if they were mad that Gaston was with me and not then. I would gladly give Gaston to them if they wanted him.

I just wanted to run away and never face the townspeople again. I closed my eyes to try and hold back the tears. "Wait." Gaston said.

I opened my eyes to see where we had stopped at. "What are we doing here?" I asked very confused. We had stopped at a jewelry store. Gaston smiled at me and ran inside. I just rolled my eyes, if he thinks he can buy me jewelry and make everything better, he's sadly mistaken.

While Gaston was inside, I sat down on a bench and looked up at the sky. I don't even know how many days it had been since I left the Beast. I wondered how he was doing. I wanted to see him so much but I knew that Gaston would never allow me to.

"Hi, Belle." I looked up to see my new friend, Giselle. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, hello Giselle." I gave her a small smile. "I'm waiting for Gaston to come out of the store." I motioned towards the store behind us.

"He's buying you jewelry? That's so sweet!" She exclaimed clapping her hands together.

I looked up at her, confused. Did she forget about our entire conversation when I opened my heart to her? When I told her who I really loved? "Giselle, you do remember our conversation yesterday right?"

Shock filled her face, followed by regret. "Oh my goodness, Belle! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about that. I'm just a sucker for love."

I smiled and stood up, taking her hands in mine. "I understand, Giselle. It's really okay." I pulled her in and gave her a quick hug.

"Good morning." We both turned to see Gaston with a small box. "Am I interrupting?"

Giselle smiled back. "Not at all, we were just finishing up together." She stepped back and shrugged her shoulders at me.

Gaston smiled at me and held up the box. He opened up to reveal an absolutely beautiful ring. It was princess-cut, with a small diamond, and a halo design around it. "I thought it was time to give my beautiful fiancé a beautiful ring."

I gasped, I couldn't believe he got me such a beautiful ring. "Gaston, I-I'm speechless. It must've been so expensive."

My mind immediately filled with thoughts of the future. I thought of what our children may look like, and our dogs. It doesn't feel as though it would be too terrible. If Gaston is gentlemanly enough to pick me out a ring like this, than maybe being married wouldn't be as bad as I think.

Gaston shook his head at me. "Don't you worry about the price, Belle. It's my gift to you." He took my left hand and placed it on my ring finger. "A perfect fit." He smiled and held out his hand, "shall we?"

"Can you give her and I just one more minute?" Giselle asked Gaston with a sweet smile on her face.

Gaston nodded. "Don't be long, Belle, we're visiting your father soon." He reminded me and walked away to speak with the townspeople.

Giselle pulled me over to her, I was still admiring my ring. "Hey!" Giselle snapped me out of my trance. "Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Giselle," I began. "This is a beautiful ring-"

"Don't tell me you're falling for him!" She exclaimed. "Just because he gave you a pretty ring? Your heart belongs to someone else!"

My mind snapped right out of its dream and came back to the real world. Giselle was right. Why had I even had those thoughts about Gaston? He was still the same conceited jerk that he had always been. Giselle was right about 2 things, my heart did belong to the Beast and it was just awful of me to consider being okay with marrying Gaston.

Tears filled my eyes. "You're right, Giselle! I can't believe that I let something as silly as a ring allow me to think that way. I'm so ashamed of myself."

Giselle reached up and wiped my tears. "It's alright, Belle, you have nothing to apologize for. It's a normal, human reaction to a man giving you jewelry."

I looked over to see Gaston waiting for me. "I'd better go, but thank you for snapping me out of it. I definitely needed that." I squeezed her hands and smiled at her before walking away.

"Hello beautiful." Gaston smiled and took my hand. "Ready to go?"

I nodded. "Thank you again for the ring, Gaston. It's very beautiful." I looked down to admire it again.

"Only the best for you." He smiled, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "Let's go see your father."

...

We walked up to my childhood home together. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He was probably working on some kind of invention.

I opened the door slightly. "Papa?" I called into the house with no answer. I looked back at Gaston and we both shrugged, walking into the house. "Papa?"

"Maurice?" Gaston called after me. The two of us walked through the house. "Maurice?"

"Who's there?" We heard my Papa shout from the back. "Is that you, Gaston?" He walked into the room and his face lit up when he saw us. "Belle!" He ran up and gave me a hug.

"Hello, papa!" I hugged him back. "I missed you, so we decided to come visit. I hope that's

Okay."

"I missed you too, sweetheart! Of course it's okay! I've got soup on the stove, please join me for dinner." He looked at both Gaston and I.

I turned to Gaston, knowing I needed permission from him first. "Is that okay with you, Gaston."

He nodded slightly, "sure, why not? But we can't stay too late, Belle. I'm going out early tomorrow morning."

"Wonderful!" My father exclaimed. "Make yourselves at home and I'll let you know when the soup is ready and we can talk!"

A few minutes later, the soup was done and we all ate a wonderful dinner together. My father was never a very good hunter, but he always made delicious soup, I missed eating it with him every night.

"So," my papa began speaking to us. "Have we set a date for the wedding yet?" He looked between the two of us.

"Not a set date yet." Gaston answered him. "I would like it to be very soon though."

I let out a small laugh. "Gaston, I just feel like we don't know each other very well and I'd like to spend some time getting to know you first."

Gaston gave me a cold glare. "That's what marriage is for, Belle." He answered harshly.

I knew I had messed up and he didn't appreciate what I had said. I looked down at my soup and continued eating slowly.

My father put his hand over mine. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Belle." He smiled at me. "If that's what makes you comfortable."

Gaston quickly stood up and pushed in his chair. "Well this was a lovely dinner, thank you very much Maurice. Come on, Belle. Let's go home."

I quickly stood up and grabbed my bag. I gave my father a hug and he leaned up to my ear. "I love you, Belle. Please be safe." He whispered, and I nodded back at him.

Gaston and I exited the house and he angrily turned to me once we were a safe distance away. "Why would you speak to me like that in front of your father?! I told you that I wanted to get married soon and you completely undermined me in front of him!"

My heart began to beat faster, I was scared. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't you dare ever do that again!" He grabbed me by the shoulders to get me to listen. "Do you understand? I never want you to be disrespectful to me, not in public or in private!"

"I understand!" I exclaimed to him. "I'm sorry!" My eyes filled with tears. "Please can you forgive me?"

His face softened and he let go of me, stepping away. "I will forgive you, Belle. Because that's the kind of man I am, a forgiving one." He held out his hand and I took it. "Let's go home,"

Once we arrived home, I asked Gaston if I could sit outside alone for a bit. He agreed as long as I stayed in our garden and he went inside.

I laid down on the grass, looking up at the night sky. The stars were beautiful tonight. They were even more beautiful from the tower of the Beast's castle. I closed my eyes, but my sleep was quickly interrupted.

Hello there." I looked up to where the deep voice came from. I saw a tall man with long, red-ish hair. "Are you alright?"

I sat up quickly. "Yes, I am. I'm sorry I didn't even hear you come up."

He laughed a little. "That's alright, I'm sorry to disturb you, I just wasn't sure if you wanted to sleep out here or not."

I studied his face. It looked familiar as if I'd seen him before. But I didn't know how I knew him. "Have we met before?"

He smiled at me, "no" he sighed. "My friends and I are new to the village, I just thought I'd come look around. I'm glad to have met you though, it'll be nice to see a familiar face around the town."

I smiled back. "I'm Belle. But I'm not sure how much you'll see me, I don't go out very much."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Why's that? Don't like the outside?" He said and laughed.

I laughed along with him. "No, it's kind of complicated. It's a story I don't really want to bore you with. I should probably get inside, my fiancé's probably wondering where I am.

"Your fiancé?" He looked slightly hurt for a moment but composed himself. "Well congratulations! It was very nice meeting you..Belle." He said my name as if he was savoring it and began walking away.

"You as well," it was then that I realized he hasn't given me his name. "Wait!" I called after him, but he was gone.

I walked inside, confused by the mystery man who seemed very familiar to me. But I just didn't know why or where I had seen him.

**A/N: wow guys! I'm so so so sorry it took me so long to upload! I tried to make this chapter extra long to make up for lack of updates recently. I've been crazy busy with college, work, and lack of motivation. But I'm going to try to give weekly updates! (If I want a career as an author then I better get my head out of the ground and try to work at least once a week!) Can you guys guess who the new mystery man is? ;) I hope so! And before you guys ask: no, Belle is not falling in love with Gaston. She was touched that he knew what kind of ring she liked and thought it was a lovely gift and that's why she reacted the way she did and it's also why it happened so quick and ended as quickly as it started. I thought the last couple chapters with Belle and Gaston had been kind of dark, so I thought I'd lighten the mood a little in this one, aside from the end, that is. I'll try really super hard to update again soon! But I do have 2 papers due next week so I may be working on those too, but I'll try. Thanks for being so patient with me guys! Thanks for reading!**


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